Republican representative Marjorie Taylor Greene. AFP File
New Delhi: Republican representative Marjorie Taylor Greene demanded an investigation on Monday into why former president Donald Trump was ostensibly unaware of earlier Chinese ‘spy’ balloons that, according to Biden officials, passed over the US at least three times during his tenure.
Taking to Twitter Greene said, “If it’s true the Pentagon purposely did NOT tell President Trump of Chinese Spy Balloons during his administration then we had a serious breach in command during the Trump admin.”
“The POTUS is the Commander in Chief. We must investigate and hold accountable those who broke rank,” she added.
Her comments came after a Pentagon official revealed on Sunday that similar aircraft had been spotted at least three additional times under Trump, but the former president swiftly denied that balloons had entered US airspace on his watch.
Former Trump national security adviser John Bolton said he was not aware of any such incidents during his tenure — and other Trump administration officials have chimed in with the same.
In another Tweet, Greene asked if the claim was true why was it being reported now.
“Defense officials now claim that Chinese Spy Balloons briefly flew over the U.S. during the Trump admin, but if true, WHY is this just now being reported? “this information was discovered after the [Trump] administration left.” How do they know now?,” she asked.
President Joe Biden ordered the US military on Saturday to shoot down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that had spent days floating over the country in what defense officials later said was a clear effort to spy on sensitive sites.
Bloomberg reported Sunday, citing a senior administration official, that
The US didn’t learn about the previous balloon flights until after Biden had replaced Trump in the Oval Office — though it remains unclear how the Biden officials eventually learned about the past instances, a Bloomberg report said on Sunday, citing a senior administration official.
The defense official noted that previous flights — including an additional sighting at the beginning of the Biden administration — had not transited US airspace for as long as the balloon recently shot down.
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